The California Energy Commission has approved more than $16 million in grants to demonstrate water and energy-saving technologies that promise to make the water, industrial, and agricultural sectors more efficient.

“In response to the drought and the Governor’s Executive Order, the Energy Commission today has invested in water-saving innovative technologies,” said California Energy Commission Chair Robert B. Weisenmiller. “These projects will increase energy efficiency at water-related facilities and enable the use of recycled water to provide better management in sectors that are typically large water users.”

The Energy Commission approved five Electric Program Investment Charge (EPIC) grants which lay a foundation for the Water Energy Technology (WET) program—one of the four Energy Commission responsibilities in Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr.’s April 1 drought-related Executive Order. The approved grants are:

• University of California, Riverside to provide more efficient information sharing between water systems. Most equipment at water and wastewater systems in California does not easily integrate with other systems. The $3 million grant will deploy a system consisting of hardware sensors and customized software that will be overlaid onto an existing energy management system without disrupting treatment plant operations in three water districts in Southern California.
• Porifera, Inc. for wastewater treatment in San Diego, Sonoma, and Fresno counties. The $3 million grant will demonstrate wastewater treatment in industrial facilities with Porifera’s Forward Osmosis Recycle technology. The technology uses an innovative membrane system to concentrate wastewater and generate pure water for onsite reuse. The project will determine emission reductions, energy and maintenance savings, and amount of water generated for reuse.
• Porifera, Inc. for water and energy savings in making food and beverage concentrates in Fresno, Solano, and Alameda counties. The more than $2 million grant will demonstrate the energy savings, reliability and commercial viability of Porifera’s Forward Osmosis Concentrator. The system can also provide high quality water for on-site reuse.
• Wexus Technologies, Inc. for commercialization of a cloud-based software platform in the agricultural industry. Wexus reports farmers can spend up to 50 percent more on energy than needed. The $4 million grant will demonstrate software that leverages existing utility meter data and helps growers access on-farm electricity and water information from any mobile device. Based on this information, growers can quickly adjust equipment to reduce energy costs.
• Kennedy/Jenks Consultants, Inc. to increase the removal of organic materials through a cloth filtration system at wastewater treatment plants. This filtration method can streamline the treatment process and reduce electricity costs. Kennedy/Jenks estimates this process accounts for 40 percent to 60 percent of total electricity use in these facilities. The use of cloth filtration removes more organic material from wastewater than the conventional processes. The $3.5 million grant will demonstrate this technology at three wastewater treatment plants.

“Water conservation and reuse play important roles in helping farmers and ranchers adapt to the drought,” said California Department of Food and Agriculture Secretary Karen Ross. “Public and private partnerships move innovation and agricultural diversity forward. Funding these projects allows farmers and ranchers to save water through efficiency without sacrificing their livelihoods.”

The Energy Commission also approved Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Program (ARFVTP) projects, which must demonstrate the viability of bringing advanced fuels technology to the marketplace. As part of the Energy Commission’s continuing diversity and outreach policy, scoring preferences were provided to fuels and transportation projects located or demonstrated in disadvantaged communities in the state. The approved alternative fuels and transportation grants include:

• North American Repower LLC to demonstrate the efficiency and viability of six armored security trucks converted from diesel fuel to plug-in hybrid electric-renewable natural gas. Security protocols typically require armored vehicles to leave their engines running during each scheduled stop, which burns fuel and emits pollutants. The demonstration vehicles, which have near-zero emissions, will operate in an all-electric mode during stop-and-go usage and in hybrid-mode during continuous vehicle operation. North American Repower received $3 million and will operate in Orange County and the urban portions of Los Angeles, Riverside and San Bernardino counties.
• Transportation Power, Inc., for three separate projects totaling nearly $9 million: a heavy-duty electric garbage truck in the Sacramento region; an advanced batter-electric truck in San Diego County; and a heavy-duty electric yard tractor in the Central Valley.
• Motiv Power Systems, Inc., to demonstrate an electric refuse and loader truck. Motiv Power Systems received nearly $3 million and will operate in the Sacramento region.

Link to news release

The USDA is making $30 million available to farmers, ranchers and food entrepreneurs to develop new product lines. Funding will be made available through the Value-Added Producer Grant (VAPG) program.

More information on how to apply is in the Federal Register. The deadline to submit paper applications is July 7. Electronic applications submitted through grants.gov are due July 2.

VAPG grants can be used to develop new product lines from raw agricultural products or additional uses for already developed product lines. Military veterans, socially disadvantaged, and beginning farmers and ranchers; operators of small- and medium-sized family farms and ranches; farmer and rancher cooperatives; and applicants that propose mid-tier value chain projects are given special priority in applying for VAPGs. Additional priority is given to group applicants who seek funding for projects that “best contribute” to creating or increasing marketing opportunities for these type of operators.

Since 2009, USDA has awarded 853 Value-Added Producer Grants totaling $104.5 million. Approximately 19 percent of the grants and 13 percent of total funding has been awarded to beginning farmers and ranchers. During the 2013-2014 funding cycle, nearly half of VAPG awards went to farmers and ranchers developing products for the local food sector. Value-Added Producer Grants are a key element of the USDA’s Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food Initiative, which coordinates the Department’s work on local and regional food systems.

Congress increased funding for the VAPG program when it passed the 2014 Farm Bill. That law builds on historic economic gains in rural America over the past six years, while achieving meaningful reform and billions of dollars in savings for taxpayers.

Link to news release

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has announced a new report showing tremendous demand for recent college graduates with a degree in agricultural programs with an estimated 57,900 high-skilled job openings annually in the food, agriculture, renewable natural resources, and environment fields in the United States. According to an employment outlook report released today by USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) and Purdue University, there is an average of 35,400 new U.S. graduates with a bachelor’s degree or higher in agriculture related fields, 22,500 short of the jobs available annually.

“There is incredible opportunity for highly-skilled jobs in agriculture,” said Secretary Vilsack. “Those receiving degrees in agricultural fields can expect to have ample career opportunities. Not only will those who study agriculture be likely to get well-paying jobs upon graduation, they will also have the satisfaction of working in a field that addresses some of the world’s most pressing challenges. These jobs will only become more important as we continue to develop solutions to feed more than 9 billion people by 2050.”

The report projects almost half of the job opportunities will be in management and business. Another 27 percent will be in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) areas. Jobs in food and biomaterials production will make up 15 percent, and 12 percent of the openings will be in education, communication, and governmental services. The report also shows that women make up more than half of the food, agriculture, renewable natural resources, and environment higher education graduates in the United States.

Other highlights of the report include:

• While most employers prefer to hire graduates of food, agriculture, renewable natural resources, and environment programs, graduates from these programs only fill about 60 percent of the expected annual openings. Even as enrollments in these programs increase and the job market becomes somewhat more competitive, good employment opportunities for the next five years are expected.
• Growth in job opportunities will be uneven. Employers in some areas will struggle to find enough graduates to fill jobs. In a few areas, employers will find an oversupply of job seekers.
• Expect to see a strong employment market for e-commerce managers and marketing agents, ecosystem managers, agricultural science and business educators, crop advisors, and pest control specialists.
• Job opportunities in STEM areas are expected to grow. Expect the strongest job market for plant scientists, food scientists, sustainable biomaterials specialists, water resources scientists and engineers, precision agriculture specialists, and veterinarians.

The report, Employment Opportunities for College Graduates in Food, Agriculture, Renewable Natural Resources, and the Environment, United States, 2015–2020, is the eighth in a series of five-year projections initiated by USDA in 1980. The report was produced by Purdue University with grant support from NIFA.

Link to news release

By Jessica Carew Craft

You drink eight glasses of water a day. But you consume far more through the food you eat.

Some consumer items use a lot of water (jeans are among the most demanding), but the bulk of our water goes into food.

With the return of intense drought in California, attention has focused on the “virtual water” that the state exports — just in the food it grows for others.

Overall, however, considering all the people who live in California, the state ends up being a net importer of the water it eats. The big exporter is the American midwest.

The US as a whole then exports our water so the rest of the world can eat it.

A lot of that “virtual water” goes to places without water shortages, such as the dark blue areas on this seasonal map of rain and snow patterns.

So why don’t we just grow food where the water is plentiful, and stop growing it where it’s dry? Take those villainous almonds, for example, which consume a gallon of water per nut. Analysts at Rabobank estimate that 80 percent of the world’s almonds–and 99 percent of those in the U.S.–are grown in California, where crippling droughts are becoming the norm.

Unfortunately, almonds only grow well in dry climates, and they have flourished in California thanks to the state’s sophisticated (and heavily subsidized) system of irrigation. More important, the water almonds consume is nothing compared to the gallons you’re eating in many other foods.

In some dry areas of the world, farmers are turning to less thirsty crops.

There are lots of nutritious alternatives to the thirstiest foods. And many ways for cooks to make them tasty and appealing. Now we just have to wait for people to start cooking them.

Link to article

A major disease event for poultry has landed in the U.S. Highly-pathogenic avian influenza has been detected in a number of states, and while the brunt of the impact has been in the Midwest, and our thoughts are with those poultry farmers, the disease hasn’t been limited to that region. There have been additional detections here in the west, including California. This may already be the largest bird flu event in U.S. history. Fortunately, this virus strain is not threatening human health and it will continue to be monitored closely by the Centers for Disease Control.

So far, more than 120 commercial poultry farms have been infected, largely by migrating waterfowl, although there has also been some farm-to-farm spread. Keeping those risks in mind, veterinarians and poultry producers in California continue to be on high alert for the disease by employing monitoring and testing procedures. Because this virus does not do well in hot, dry climates, California may get a break this summer as we face the challenge of ongoing drought, but it is something to keep a close eye on as we move into the typical winter flu season for California poultry. We are hoping for the best, but preparing for the worst.

In the meantime, commercial as well as backyard poultry operations are urged to follow strict biosecurity measures, such as:

1) Do not share birds, equipment or feed with other bird owners.

2) Restrict access to your birds; visitors may carry disease on their clothing or shoes.

3) Isolate new birds from your other birds for 30 days
and observe them for signs of illness.

4) Keep wild birds away from your birds, particularly wild waterfowl (ducks).

Disease prevention means doing everything possible to protect poultry by reporting signs of disease–particularly large, unexpected die-offs–to your veterinarian and CDFA. The virus spreads rapidly, so immediate detection and reporting is critical to limiting spread.